28 February 2010

In October 2010, the Equality Bill is scheduled to become law in the UK. It’ s the biggest single biggest piece of employment legislation that the UK will face this year. The Bill is designed to ensure that everybody is adequately protected against discrimination.

 A socio-economic duty to reduce inequality

The Bill will consolidate existing legislation on sex, race, disability, sexual orientation, religion or belief and age. If not followed or prepared for properly, it could result in significant costs for organisations. The Equalities Office is estimating that its implementation is likely to cost somewhere in the region of £310million mainly as a result of extra tribunal and court cases.

Speaking of a link to bullying and harassment, and the events of the last week, the focus of the new Bill will be on ‘preventing unwanted conduct which has the purpose or effect of violating a persons’ dignity or creating a hostile environment’. The emphasis is on the concept of prevention and the steps an organisation takes to help prevention. Organisations will be compelled to recognise their socio-economic duty to reduce inequality.

The Bill will include a new term of ‘protected characteristic’ – a protected characteristic being sex, race, age, and religious belief etc. Conduct which is ‘related to’ a protected characteristic will be also be covered. For example it will protect an employee from being harassed because of their association with someone – such as having a relative who is a homosexual or of a certain race.

The Bill is also designed to increase transparency about pay. Organisations in the private sector with more than 250 employees will be required to publish information on differences in pay between male and female employees (from 2013). The public sector will be required to publish pay gap reports too. The public sector will also be forced to consider equality when deciding on purchasing or outsourcing.

In recruitment, an employer will be able to take a ‘protected characteristic’ into account. For example, where a male and female applicant are considered as having equal skills and experience, the female could be appointed where there is female under representation. This is in effect, positive action.

Employment tribunals will have new powers to make recommendations that will have to be applied to the whole workforce. For example, if a former employee wins a case for being discriminated against, the organisation could be ordered to provide training in equality and diversity management for all managers.

The Bill is far reaching. Even the Pope has had something to say about it!

What can you do now?

• Ensure your equality and diversity policies are compliant – carry out Equality Impact Assessments
• Deliver staff briefing sessions on the changing legislation
• Deliver one day courses on ‘Equality & Diversity – how to manage difference’
• Run training sessions on the prevention of bullying and harassment
• Deliver training sessions on managing difficult conversations
• Set up an in-house mediation scheme

For more information about the Equality Bill visit:

Government Equalities Office

Equalities and Human Rights Commission

Houses of Parliament

Clive Lewis

Director – Globis

2 February 2010: News Release

On 26/27 January 2010 Globis ran its first Workplace Mediation Conversion Course for civil and commercial mediators. The groundbreaking course has received excellent reviews. There is an ongoing debate in the mediation industry about whether there are any differences in mediating civil/commercial and workplace disputes. Delegates attending the course seemed to think so.

Antony Sendall of Littleton Chambers said “I found the Globis Workplace Mediation Conversion Course both very valuable and highly stimulating. I especially enjoyed the way in which the learning was achieved primarily through dialogue and discussion. The group size was perfectly balanced as it was large enough to result in a diverse range of backgrounds and experience, yet small enough to give everyone sufficient time to say their piece, to exchange thoughts and experiences and to play an active part in the role play scenarios. Despite being an employment lawyer already, I learned a lot and now feel much better equipped to conduct effective workplace mediations”.

Immediately after announcing the course, Globis was contacted with enquiries from civil/commercial mediators who have an interest in adding workplace mediation to their portfolio. The 2 day course, held at the International Dispute Resolution Centre, Fleet Street, London, deals with both the theory and practical aspects of workplace related disputes, looking at key themes such as:

• The 7 step commissioning process
• Understanding key phrases and terms used in workplace disputes
• How to draft a workplace related settlement agreement
• How to follow up after mediation workplace disputes, and
• Providing delegates with an opportunity to practice workplace mediation skills by using real-life case studies
• How to calculate the cost of conflict for an organisation

Jack Fallow, Globis Director said “I am delighted that the first course has been such a great success. We thought long and hard about the design for the programme and it seems that we struck the right balance”.

Due to the continuing demand for the course, new dates have now been added for March. For more details click here:

  Note to Editors:

• Globis director, Clive Lewis is the author of ‘The Definitive Guide to Workplace Mediation’
• Globis is a Board member of the Civil Mediation Council
• A new ACAS Code of practice introducing the concept mediation for the first time was introduced in April 2009
• Globis recently trained 16 mediators at East Sussex County Council leading to the implementation of an in-house mediation scheme which has delivered cost savings of just under £1million in just over one year. East Sussex County Council was on the short list for the CIPD 2009 awards for the introduction of the scheme.

Coaching and Leadership Mentoring are playing an increasingly important role in todays organisation. Our ILM accredited coaching courses are helping hundreds of line managers improve their on job effectiveness. If you;

Then this course is for you.  Registering for the programme couldn’t be easier. Please click here for more information on the course or here to register on-line.

Programme dates are: 3-5 February, 17-18 March, 12-13 May 2010

Cost: £2780 (includes all workshops, tutorials, and assessment marking) plus £150 ILM registration fee payable on booking.

Location: Gloucester

ILM Membership

All registered delegates automatically become studying members of the ILM for one year and can enjoy a range of member benefits accessible through the ILM website. Successful completion of the Level 7 qualification provides eligibility for Associate Membership of the ILM. To see more on the ILM, please click here: www.i-l-m.com

Institute of Leadership & Management

Coaching and Leadership Mentoring are playing an increasingly important role in todays organisation. Our ILM accredited coaching courses are helping hundreds of line managers improve their on job effectiveness. If you;

Then this course is for you.  Registering for the programme couldn’t be easier. Please click here for more information on the course or here to register on-line.

Programme dates are: 4-6 November, 6-7 January, 3-4 March 2010

Additional dates: 3-5 February, 17-18 March, 12-13 May 2010

Cost: £2780 (includes all workshops, tutorials, and assessment marking) plus £150 ILM registration fee payable on booking.

Location: London

ILM Membership

All registered delegates automatically become studying members of the ILM for one year and can enjoy a range of member benefits accessible through the ILM website. Successful completion of the Level 7 qualification provides eligibility for Associate Membership of the ILM. To see more on the ILM, please click here: www.i-l-m.com